Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,249 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 4,796 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Expedia Group worth $24,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $51,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $189.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.84. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $192.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $351,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at $15,345,000. This trade represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 198,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,811,480.90. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,951 shares of company stock worth $6,197,710 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Expedia Group from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.70.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.